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Australian dollar hits near 3-month peak on trade boom, NZD hangs on

The Australian dollar climbed 0.5 per cent on Thursday to a near three-month peak as the country boasted its biggest trade surplus on record in December, led by surging commodity prices.

PHOTO: BLOOMBERG

[SYDNEY] The Australian dollar climbed 0.5 per cent on Thursday to a near three-month peak as the country boasted its biggest trade surplus on record in December, led by surging commodity prices.

The Australian dollar went as far as US$0.7631, the highest since Nov 10. It also broke above key chart resistance of US$0.7610/20, paving the way for US$0.7720/40.

Official data on Thursday showed a trade surplus of A$3.51 billion (S$3.78 billion) in December, handily outpacing forecasts of A$2.2 billion. The previous month was also revised up sharply to A$2 billion.

The windfall could lessen the risk of a downgrade to Australia's triple A credit rating and ripple through the economy via higher profits, incomes and tax receipts.